bathory

Though ostensibly a band, Bathory is really the musical vehicle for Swedish metalist Quorthon--nee Thomas Forsberg--Bathory's sound has touched upon numerous metal sub-styles, but the outfit is best known for creating the sinister "black metal" sound popular in Scandinavia. Bathory is also considered the first band to play in the "Viking metal" style, a grandiose type of metal heavily indebted to Norse mythology and imagery. Although Quorthon himself never indulged in the violent, destructive behaviour--including church burnings, suicide, and murder--that brought black metal bands such as Chaos and Burzum international attention, he is thought of by many as the de facto godfather of that community. Quorthon died unexpectedly in 2004.